from the North Georgia Arts Guild

North Georgia Arts Guild “Letters” from Guild Members on the COVID-19 Coronavirus By Susan Brewer

In March, at the time this article was being written, CO

VID-19 became the focus of the nation and the world. The North Georgia Arts Guild members share words on what the coronavirus means to them. I’ve added notes of my own in italics.

Marcia Scroggs: I hope everyone is safe and doing okay. Since the art festivals have all been cancelled, I have plenty of time to make lots of pottery. I’m loving it and feeling more creative since I don’t have to rush. I fred a lot of bisque and am just now getting into the glazing mode and hope to have a load to fre again soon.

It will be fun to get together again when they set us free!

That freedom will come! I love Marcia’s enthusiasm. Marcia has managed the care of her disabled husband for decades, yet still possesses joy in the gifts that are part of her life.

Tricia Moore

I can’t fnd inspiration to paint since Jimmy died, but I still love art and hope that I will be able to go back to the brushes and knives someday soon. I’m sending in an oil painting of a bear that was one of Jimmy’s favorites. Another member, Randy Sells, told me that she, too, lost her husband, Skip; he died recently. She has adjusted with the help of neighbors she walks with—at a safe distance, of course—and she also has the help of a friend and helper.

Sandra Copenhaver: I lost my husband May 3, 2019 and therefore am going through the COVID-19 experience on my own. Since I am at risk with an autoimmune condition, I have been home since March 14. I have done Walmart pickup twice— something I would’ve never done but really isn’t that bad.

Joni and Gary Mitchell: Susan, the pandemic has made Gary and I very sad for those who have lost their lives and for their families. We think about all the healthcare and support personnel—the direct-care people, the EMTs, doctors, nurses, and support staff—they will be struggling to overcome the trauma of these events for years to come. We feel traumatized, too, and I have not felt like creating jewelry. Somehow it feels disrespectful.

I wanted to volunteer at CareNet, but Gary is in the highrisk group, so I make full face-covering masks with flter pockets and wire-bridged noses to be snug to your face. They’re reinforced to be washer/dryer safe. They’ve gone to Rabun Animal Hospital, our chiropractor, friends in high-risk categories and many-many to the Franklin House Nursing Home. I’ve also sent them to people we know in Texas, Florida, New York, and New Jersey. My mother used to say, “It’s an ill-wind that can blow no good,” meaning there’s always good that comes from everything. Gary and I both hope that maybe we will learn how inter-dependent we are on one another—we need to. Joni, Gary, and I are cut from the same cloth—we are believers in “we” and “us” that describes a whole, compassionate world view.

Tricia Moore: The coronavirus is a phenomenon the likes of which we as a nation have never experienced before. The effects will linger on for years to come. This is a time when people should forget their differences, political and otherwise, and pull together in unity to help bring us out of the ill effects of this virus. God can and will bring good out of this. I think we should concentrate on that positive aspect and look for good and look for ways we can be instrumental in bringing that about. Perhaps the isolation has helped us to appreciate things we took for granted before. We have the time now to attend to things we should have, but never found time. Perhaps this has made us more aware and sympathetic to the struggles of others.

We have quickly adapted to the problem of social distancing by technological means. People who never dreamed they could use apps like Zoom and Messenger to connect faceto-face are doing so now. Many businesses and schools are adapting by using online resources. If you have a phone, computer, iPad, etc., you don’t have to be isolated. No, it doesn’t take the place of seeing loved ones in person or those special hugs we all need, but it defnitely helps.

I have taken this opportunity to do some sewing and lots of art. I pulled out my sewing machine and found a pattern on Pinterest to make cloth masks for friends and family. And I have enjoyed the doing of art like I haven’t in a while – drawing, cardmaking, collages, and even a bit of “papier-maché”. I have made many cards to send to those I care about, incorporating my own drawings, stamping, stenciling, embossing, watercolor painting and coloring with Copic markers and colored pencils. I have taken this opportunity to play using my art materials. There is a real freedom to creating without worrying whether your work is “perfect” or sellable, creating for the pure joy of it.

Tricia’s strength is her positive gentleness that is both kind and clear-sighted. She has faith in God and in people to overcome their differences. Let us hope she is right.

Silke Cliatt

Silke Cliatt: Susan, I am spending my days making masks for my friends and family, for the EMTs of Clayton, for the Post Offce employees, for FAITH, and for the correctional facility in Clarkesville. I give them away when the opportunity arises, such as when a repairman comes to my house. Do you want or need any?

For Silke, giving freely and loving others without any kind of “payback” is the most elevated connection to life there can be.

Silke quoted theologian and writer, Rev. Dr. John Watson, DD who went by the pen name, Ian Maclaren: Be kind, for everyone you meet is fghting a hard battle. In November, a presidential election will take place. Will the diffculties we are navigating now help us fnd goodness and compassion in one another? Will it heal our fear and distrust, or will fear and distrust grow? Both… without a doubt. Our troubles, though, may allow us to rediscover that goodness, mercy, and love are worth the fght, too.

Susan Brewer has been writing articles featuring North Georgia Arts Guild members since April 2017. Email your comments/questions to her at sbrewer991@gmail.com

Honestly I am not bragging but I have some of the most talented friends you’ve ever seen! One that is my point of reference for this article is a true “Jen of all trades”. What does Jack know anyway, he has never created a one of a kind fower! Well, Jack is actually not real, but Jen is and we’ve been friends for decades and Dahlias are just one of the things she is good at. Her beautiful arrangements were the inspiration I needed to con my husband into building me a small (I want it bigger) fower bed so that I could plant my own Dahlia bed. I did this last year and after grabbing miscellaneous bags of tubers and putting them in the fresh black dirt, the adventure began! DAHLIA-ING Let’s get planting!

With Jen, Cindi, and Tracy

“People think it is hard to grow these fowers, but it’s not!” Jennifer Schmitt recently shared with me while helping me plant a new Dahlia bed at Sunshine & Sawdust, the DIY studio began by Cindi Freeman and I last year. We videoed our conversation with Jennifer and shared it on our Facebook page in lieu of an actual class, as we had originally planned, due to Covid-19. We are however planning a fower arranging class at the end of summer if it works out. So plant your bed now following the instructions here and watch the video on www.facebook.com/ sunshineandsawduststudio. You will love and I do mean LOVE these fowers! Your friends and family will too because Dahlias are a giving fower. They show us how we should all live, I know that might sound a little deep but just listen… or read on.

Dahlias grow from tubers, not bulbs. Tubers produce nodes, buds or “eyes” all over their surface, which grow up through the soil surface as shoots and stems, or down into the soil as roots. Because of their high nutrient content, many tubers, like potatoes, are grown as food. As tubers mature, new tubers may form from their roots and stems. To prepare to put our tubers in the ground we put some landscape mesh down. Stakes are necessary with Dahlias; fowers can range in size from the petite 2-inch lollipop-style pompoms to giant 15-inch “dinner plate” blooms. Most varieties grow 4 to 5 feet tall. The height of these plants and the size of their blooms dictate that stakes for support are necessary. You want to put them in frst either by the hole you plan to plant the tuber in or you can create a system to support your garden which is what we did in our garden.

With six sturdy wooden stakes in place we cut out dinner plate circles in our landscape mesh and Jennifer with shovel in hand went to work digging holes around 6-8 inches deep and slightly larger than the tubers. We added Bone Meal to the holes over top of the tubers with “eyes” pointing up. We covered the Dahlias and put mulch over them. Spacing is important because they grow wide and tall. We put at least a foot between each plant. Once planted we took twine and about a foot up the stakes we wrapped it around the outside of all six stakes, then we criss crossed the twine back and forth creating a support system for our plants. As they grow we may need to go back and add another layer of twine further up the stake. Your Dahlias do need full sun and mulch is